1: "Call for help, Job, if you think anyone will answer! To which of the holy angels will you turn?
2: The hot temper of a fool eventually kills him, the jealous anger of a simpleton does her in.
3: I've seen it myself--seen fools putting down roots, and then, suddenly, their houses are cursed.
4: Their children out in the cold, abused and exploited, with no one to stick up for them.
5: Hungry people off the street plunder their harvests, cleaning them out completely, taking thorns and all, insatiable for everything they have.
6: Don't blame fate when things go wrong--trouble doesn't come from nowhere.
7: It's human! Mortals are born and bred for trouble, as certainly as sparks fly upward.
8: "If I were in your shoes, I'd go straight to God, I'd throw myself on the mercy of God.
9: After all, he's famous for great and unexpected acts; there's no end to his surprises.
10: He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth, sends water to irrigate the fields.
11: He raises up the down-and-out, gives firm footing to those sinking in grief.
12: He aborts the schemes of conniving crooks, so that none of their plots come to term.
13: He catches the know-it--alls in their conspiracies--all that intricate intrigue swept out with the trash!
14: Suddenly they're disoriented, plunged into darkness; they can't see to put one foot in front of the other.
15: But the downtrodden are saved by God, saved from the murderous plots, saved from the iron fist.
16: And so the poor continue to hope, while injustice is bound and gagged.
17: "So, what a blessing when God steps in and corrects you! Mind you, don't despise the discipline of Almighty God!
18: True, he wounds, but he also dresses the wound; the same hand that hurts you, heals you.
19: From one disaster after another he delivers you; no matter what the calamity, the evil can't touch you--
20: "In famine, he'll keep you from starving, in war, from being gutted by the sword.
21: You'll be protected from vicious gossip and live fearless through any catastrophe.
22: You'll shrug off disaster and famine, and stroll fearlessly among wild animals.
23: You'll be on good terms with rocks and mountains; wild animals will become your good friends.
24: You'll know that your place on earth is safe, you'll look over your goods and find nothing amiss.
25: You'll see your children grow up, your family lovely and lissome as orchard grass.
26: You'll arrive at your grave ripe with many good years, like sheaves of golden grain at harvest.
27: "Yes, this is the way things are--my word of honor! Take it to heart and you won't go wrong." JOB REPLIES TO ELIPHAZ God Has Dumped the Works on Me